The present invention relates generally to construction techniques and more particularly to the installation of utilities that improve the air within a building for its occupants.
Respiratory illnesses and fungal diseases cost hundreds of billions of dollars each year in medical bills and lost productivity. They also claim lives. A significant cause of respiratory illness and fungal disease is the presence in the air of mold, mildew, fungus, viruses, bacteria and insects or their metabolites. Within a building, particularly an older one in which there are occupants who spend a considerable amount of their time, such as a home or an office building, the occupants may be exposed to toxic air laden with mold, mildew, fungus, viruses, bacteria insects and biological contaminants.
The prevalence of this bad air is greater near sources of moisture and in wetter climates, but it is a condition that tends to worsen over time for each building. In particular, the interiors of the walls, floors and ceilings of a home, when the weather is wet, tend to harbor and culture bacteria, molds, mildew, fungus, virus and insects. These interiors of the walls are dark and warm; all they need is moisture to have all the requisite conditions for culturing molds, mildew, fungus, viruses, bacteria and insects.
There remains a need for a method and apparatus for preventing the culturing of molds, mildew, fungus, viruses, bacteria and insects within the walls, ceilings and floors of a building.
According to its major aspects and briefly recited, the present invention and insects within the walls, ceilings and floors of a building. The method comprises the primary step of circulating fresh, dry air into the spaces between the interior surfaces and exterior surfaces of the walls, ceilings and floors. The apparatus for performing this step is a pump and a network of plastic piping installed in the walls, ceilings and floors and adapted to create a steady flow of dry, clean air within the walls that absorbs moisture which would otherwise promote the culturing of the molds, mildew, fungi, viruses, bacteria, and insects. Preferably, sensors inside the wall are connected to a controller to activate the pump when needed.
In a preferred embodiment, the piping would also facilitate the injection of fumigants including pesticides, fungicides, bactericide, and biocides.
An important feature of the present invention is the monitoring of the moisture level within the interior of the walls. By monitoring the moisture level, the occupants can determine if the conditions for culturing molds, fungi, viruses, bacteria and insects are developing.
Another important feature of the present invention is the piping and pump system. This system allows moisture to be removed before it rises to the level at which culturing conditions occur. Furthermore, it also serves as a vehicle for introducing more aggressive agents for thwarting mold, mildew, fungus, viruses, bacteria, and insects, that might otherwise develop and for venting radon gas and its daughter products.
Still another feature of the present invention is the method of circulating air throughout the spaces in the walls of a building to prevent mold, mildew, fungus, viruses, bacteria and insects from establishing themselves in the walls, ceilings and floors where they can cause respiratory illness and fungal diseases in occupants of the building. By preventing their occurrence, a significant cause of respiratory illness and fungal diseases is reduced or eliminated.
Yet another feature of the present invention is the use of a pump for drawing air from the spaces in the walls and allowing clean, filtered, dry air to be pulled into those spaces rather than pumping air into them where it might create a pressure that would force air through the walls, floors and ceilings and deliver the mold, etc., into the interior rooms of a building.